What it Means to be Living
by fuyuhiko
Summary: Namine is placed second behind her younger sister, Xion. So of course when her mom leaves Namine's alcoholic dad, Namine is left behind to take care of him. Rated T just in case. AU


**Hello! c: So basically, about this story... yeah. I don't know. I just suddenly had the idea yesterday, and I decided to post it the day after Thanksgiving. It centers around our beloved Nami, ****although in some chapters, it MAY be from the POV of Roxas.**

**Just to let you know, this story was SUPPOSED to be in third person. But for some reason, I messed up and _started_ the story in third person, but then I accidentally switched it to first person. Oops. I won't bother changing it. Sorry. **

**I feel horrible today. I think I may have a stomach bug. So in my spare time today, I'll write, play Minecraft, and play MW3.**

**Anyway, enough with my ramblings. Enjoy!**

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><p>"…And the food, and my memories, and my friends, and my house…"<p>

Namine sighed quietly, staring longingly at the food on the table. The question, 'what are you thankful for?', always came up at the dinner table on this day. Thanksgiving, the day when you can feast like a king and not be judged for shoveling insane amounts of food into your mouth. The juicy turkey sitting on the large dining table was starting to make Namine's mouth water, and she tapped her fork against her teeth in anticipation. It was six in the afternoon, and they should be eating now. However, that darned question was asked again, and obviously her younger sister, Xion, was thankful for just about everything.

"…And I'm thankful for mommy, and grandpa, and grandma, and daddy, and my flatscreen TV…"

I smirked when I realized that she hadn't said that she was thankful to have me. Not that I could blame her. I wouldn't be thankful either. After all, we only saw each other twice a year, and when we were together, I would usually be studying or reading.

"Let's see, um… Oh! I am thankful for the birthday gifts I've gotten throughout the years, I'm thankful for my school…"

I shot Xion the sharpest glare I could muster. She got the message, and swiftly wrapped things up with a cheesy "And I'm thankful for _all of the things you do for me!_", kissing mom on the cheek. I rolled my eyes as my mom started to turn toward me, but before I could start reciting my short list of things I'm thankful for, the front door bursts open.

"Honey~, I'm home!"

My mom immediately gets up and goes over to him. He wraps his arms around her waist and kisses from her neck to her shoulder, then bringing his lips to her collarbone. I look away when he begins to stray too close to her private zones. I glared intensely at my lap as I heard my mom giggle flirtatiously. "You look as beautiful as ever, Tifa." He murmured.

She winked at him and pressed against him, locking lips passionately.

Growing irritated, I clear my throat not-so-subtly. The two of them break away from each other and look up at me, then at Xion. "Hello, hun! How was your day?" He asked Xion. I was ignored.

"Daddy!" Xion ran up and hugged him. I sighed. She was only two years younger than me, she shouldn't act like a little kid anymore.

"How was that presentation you turned in today at school?"

"Great!" Xion chirped. "And it's all thanks to your help, dad!"

_Stop that. He isn't our father._

"Did you guys eat without me?"

"Nope, we were just about to. Namine was about to say her thanks, I believe." Xion sent me a smile. I refused to look in her direction. Instead I stared at my glass of water, feeling everyone's expectant gazes on me.

"Personally, I'm thankful for all of the things given to me, and the support that I get from everyone." I force a smile. "I'm blessed to have such a go-, um, _great_ family like you guys."

"Hooray! Now let's eat!" Xion rose her glass into the air in excitement.

"Hold on a second, little missy!" My step-father laughed. "I bought gifts!"

"How sweet." My mom giggles, kissing him on the cheek.

"Xion, I hope you'll enjoy it…" he pulled a small box out of his jacket and handed it to her. She opened it and gasped, squealing in excitement.

"A locket! It's beautiful!" she gushed. "Thanks, dad!"

He laughs, then looks at me. His lips press into a thin line for a second. "Right. Here you go, Namine." I am handed a card. It looks handmade, and it has my name written on the front. On the inside it says, 'Happy Thanksgiving!'. Heh. You can't get any more original than that.

"It's lovely. Thanks."

"Hmm. Now, let's eat!"

As he turns away, I mouth to his back, '_Thanks for nothing, you bastard.'_

=FCFCFCFCFCFCFCFCFCFCFCFCFCFC=

"I'm home."

I close the door behind me and take off my shoes. "Dad, are you home?"

The TV is on in the living room. I walk in, stepping softly. I see his figure lying down on the couch. "Hey, dad. Dad… are you awake?"

When I don't get an answer, I walk over to him, leaning over to get a look at his face. His mouth is open and some drool is dripping down his chin. His arm is limply hanging over the side of the couch, and his fingers loosely grasp a half-full bottle of vodka. He snores softly, grumbling incoherently to himself.

Softly, I take the vodka from his hands and place it on the kitchen counter. After closing all of the windows and blinds, I place a thin blanket over my father's shoulders and give him a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Thanksgiving," I whisper in his ear.

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><p><strong>Rather short chapter. :c I wrote it in, like, an hour, and I usually need more time than that to write long chappies. I hope you like it, even though I have NO idea what I am going to do with this story. I just sort of thought that uploading it would encourage me to write more~ c: <strong>

**Please review! I'll answer you all in a PM. (unless you have PMs disabled or aren't logged in, in which case I'll answer in the author's notes.)**

**Lots of love! xxx**


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